Tonight I Dream. Tomorrow I Do!

Christmas… Treat and Traditions…

Good morning and welcome to the first of my Christmas posts…You can expect tried and tested recipes which were passed down from my mum, recipes I have been gifted by friends and family from all over the world and which are now our family favourites. Traditions there are many Christmas traditions practised from around the world and I will be bringing you some of those and anyone who wishes to contribute with a guest post of their own on a special Thanksgiving dish or tradition then you would be very welcome as I know my friends across the pond and my rellies celebrate Thanksgiving on the 22nd November and have turkey and lots of other goodies …I have sampled the smoked turkey my US family make and it is awesome but have never cooked it…The size of their smoker is also awesome I need to ask for a photo as unfortunately when my last laptop crashed I lost all my photos from my trip…

I have discovered so much about Christmas over the past few years from how many different names Santa is called, the tales of Trolls which come down from the mountains in Iceland, all the different recipes I am gleaning from far and wide..and I love it and this little Christmas Beetle…ooooh so cute!

FORGET FROSTED GRASS and snow-covered windowsills, in Australia it’s the Christmas beetle that heralds the start of the festive season. They are so pretty with their metallic coats.

The metallic scarabs are synonymous with summer Down Under – or at least they used to be.

Research suggests that Australia’s endemic Christmas beetle (Anoplognathus) population is on the decline.

Entomologist Dr Chris Reid, from the Australian Museum, attributes the drop in sightings to drier than usual spring weather, especially along the coast of New South Wales.

Christmas beetles in the greater Sydney region have also been victims of urban sprawl, with species disappearing from the city’s west due to much of their natural habitat being used for development.

I know people have to live in houses but urban sprawl has a lot to answer for and more care and research should be undertaken before permission to develop has been given or provision should be made to keep wildlife disruption to a minimum…Most cannot readjust.

THE NATURAL habitat for Christmas beetles is woodland, where there are plenty of trees and rich soil. The larvae develop in the soil, and remain there as curl grubs, feeding on grass and plant roots, as well as the surface roots of eucalypts.

As fully grown adults, they mainly eat eucalyptus leaves but are known to consume the foliage of introduced species, such as the peppercorn tree.

The reason we only see these colourful insects during the festive season has nothing to do with Saint Nick aka Santa and there was you thinking it did…Ha Ha

BUT the end of spring and start of summer is when the larvae hatch out. The adults aren’t active during the winter months; they are larvae only during those months. When the adults are spotted during the Christmas month they’re at the stage of laying eggs.

This time of year is also mating season.

if you are lucky enough to see them during the day on young eucalypts… they’re usually in clusters trying to mate, with the males pushing each other off females.

They are very pretty though and Christmassy …Don’t you think?

The information about the Christmas Beetle came from Australia’s National Geographic Magazine.

Photos courtesy of Pixabay:

Now if you haven’t made your cake and Christmas pudding yet then here is the link for the recipes as you need time to infuse that cake with all that booze…Hic…

Mistletoe... Is synonymous with the festive celebrations and there is always some at Office Christmas parties…Botanically it is an interesting plant as it is a hemiparasite which means that although it does grow on its own it also does attach itself to other trees and sucks all the nutrients from the tree…

There are many tales and traditions surrounding mistletoe and although it is poisonous to us it is a source of food to animals and birds…Butterflies lay their eggs on it and bees collect the pollen so an important source for wildlife…

It is also a very striking looking plant with the dark green leaves and white berries don’t you think and looks lovely in Christmas Wreaths.

The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe dates back to Norse mythology it was also thought to have magical powers and ward off evil spirits…

I hope you have enjoyed the first of My Christmas Treats and Traditions…Thank you for reading and I invite your comments…I love your comments and also always reply xxx

Stop Press…

Who forgot in her hurry to press publish.?…Doh!

An alternative way to eat Christmas Cake and I love it… Definitely the best cheese sandwich for a long time…xxxx

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

Carol, I was resisting a Christmas post, yet yours was so much more. I was glued and delighted all the way through. The beetles in Australia? I need to think of a word more powerful than gorgeous. Thank you for the history and tradition. And, I want to join you for a slice of Sue Vincent’s cheese fruit cake. 🙂

Thank you so much Jennie those beetles are just spectacular and I am pleased you loved my first Christmas post I hope I can delight you with the remainder and please join me for a cheese fruitcake sandwich I love company 🙂 Enjoy your Sunday 🙂

You are very welcome, Carol! Of course I will be with you all the way through your Christmas posts. This one was so good, the rest will certainly be so, as well. If only we could enjoy Sue’s fruitcake together. 😀

It’s never too early for Christmas, Carol. Thanks for all the festive information in this and upcoming posts. I never knew anything about the Christmas beetle. Have you heard of the Christmas Cactus? Ours is already coming into flower because of the shorter days.

Yes, Hugh my mum had a huge one it seemed to get bigger every year they are very pretty. I hope you get lots of blooms. The beetle is very pretty isn’t it? In Oz they get lots of bright coloured animals and birds whereas here we just get bog standard birds none so pretty as all the cockateils and other birds we saw in Oz …Enjoy your weekend, Hugh 🙂

Reblogged this on Smorgasbord Blog Magazine and commented:
Carol Taylor is fast off the mark after Halloween to get you started on the seven week lead up to Christmas… some traditions and interesting facts about Australia’s beetles.. and there is some booze….